This meeting took a while to get going and both teams respected the theme of the evening, that is, Halloween. Because the spectacle proposed was scary to see… We had to wait more than four minutes and more than fifteen missed shots to see a first basket, scored by the Magic. The Clippers will take more than five minutes and thirty seconds to find their way to the circle!
Not only were there a lot of missed shots in this first quarter, but also lost balls. Russell Westbrook’s last shot, which ends in an airball, perfectly symbolizes these twelve painful and sterile minutes (13-18). In the second quarter, the Magic is not far from taking a ten-point lead after the successes of Moe Wagner and Gary Harris. But the Los Angeles defense held on and Paul George came out of his bad start to the match, accumulating points, particularly on free throws (47-50).
A quarter to make the difference
Returning from the locker room, the Californians still rely on their defense. They recover balls and the duo Russell Westbrook – Bones Hyland takes care of setting the rhythm. The first is excellent in the third quarter, hurting Orlando very badly. Paul George hits twice in a row at 3-points and Tyronn Lue’s men take the break with a ten-point lead. The Clippers even went 18-2 and “PG13” scored two more winning baskets to conclude this third quarter perfectly negotiated by the Clippers (88-71).
The hardest thing is done. The Orlando players cannot find solutions against the opposing defense and the Clippers can calmly manage the last quarter. They logically won 118-102 after a generally unsuccessful first half but with a third quarter dominated by twenty points (41-21).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The awakening of Russell Westbrook and Paul George. When they returned to the locker room, the two men had 12 points at 3/17 in the shootout. Russell Westbrook only scored two points and Paul George started with 0/6 shooting. Then, in the third quarter, everything started. The playmaker feeds on transitions to attack the circle, the winger finds his skill from afar and the two score 30 points. In detail, there are 14 points at 4/5 at 3-pts for Paul George, and 16 points at 7/9 on the shoot for the 2017 MVP.
– The Clippers defense was serious. If the Clippers were able to hold on despite a poor first period offensively, it was thanks to their defense. Example with Kawhi Leonard, who never entered the game on offense, but stole two balls and was active on defense. Tyronn Lue’s troops were serious, always focused and the Magic were never able to pull away to give themselves a real chance of winning.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
